English River First Nation has been searching the site of the former Beauval Indian Residential School using Ground Penetrating Radar and in Phase 1, findings have produced several positive hits of what are believed to be 83 possible unmarked graves.

Chief Jenny Wolverine says most of the grave sites are labelled as “child-sized” or “sub-adult” in length. “Further to this, 12 of these unmarked graves average only two-and-a-half feet in length, which is consistent with the burial of infants, and in line with several witness accounts of infant births and subsequent deaths.” Additional sites identified by survivor accounts will be searched over the next year.

A special council of community members, elders, and survivors are providing guidance and direction on next steps. Elders and survivors are requesting privacy for the next two weeks to ensure proper protocol and ceremony can be done to honour the lives of these babies and children.

The English River First Nation Elders Council expresses sincere sympathy and offers prayers to all affected by the findings at the Beauval Indian Residential School. In a news release, the Elders Council says they are shocked, but not surprised by these findings. They have heard horrifying and grueling stories of abuse from survivors which have been circulating for generations, including physical, sexual, emotional and spiritual abuses, children dying under suspicious circumstances, and even babies being born and dying at the school.

The Elders Council says, “We call on all people, governments, and other institutions to take notice of what has happened and how it continues to affect our people today.” The Council adds, “These children and babies are no longer lost. They were never forgotten, and we find some relief in that they have been discovered. Their final resting places can now be properly marked and cared for. We believe that the spirits of these little ones were calling out to us, and their calls were finally heard, and they’ve now been found. Their spirits can now be honoured, fed, and prayed for as proper protocol and ceremony dictates.”